Sunday, August 4, 2013

Mets Games Just Keep Going... And Going... And Going

The 1980s was a decade loaded with many popular television commercials. One such ad featured the Energizer Bunny, who seemingly never ran out of battery life because it was being powered by Energizer batteries. As the catch phrase said, the pink critter with shades "keeps going ... and going ... and going ...".

The '80s was also a very popular time for the Mets, who won two division titles and one World Series championship during the second half of the decade. The 1986 squad set or tied many team records, including number of wins in a season (108). One of the more obscure franchise records they matched was the number of extra-inning games won in a single season. The '86 Mets played a total of 23 overtime affairs, winning 13 of them. That matched a team record originally set in 1971, a year in which the club won 13 of 22 extra-inning games. But the 1986 Mets fell just short of the team record for total number of extra-inning games played in one season, as the 1978 club played 25 games that went past nine innings. Unfortunately, that squad was only able to win eight of those contests.

In playing 25 extra-inning games in 1978, the Mets needed an additional 44 innings to settle those affairs. Meanwhile, the 1986 Mets needed to play 51 extra innings to come up with a winner in their 23 overtime games.

This year's Mets have already played 15 games that required free baseball. Four of those games went past the 14th inning stretch, including a 20-inning marathon on June 8 against the Miami Marlins. Through their first 108 games, the Mets have played a total of 48 extra innings, which is four more than the '78 team needed to play 25 extra-inning games, but three fewer than the '86 squad played in their 23 extra-inning contests.

By now, I'm sure you're well aware of where this post is going. Here is a list of the ten seasons in which the Mets did their best Energizer Bunny impression - as they kept going ... and going ... and going ... playing as many extra innings as needed before someone broke through with a lead that was never relinquished.

Year

Extra Innings

X-Inning
Games

W-L Record

Most Innings In A Game

1979

60

21

8-12-1

18

1985

60

22

12-10

19

1968

59

15

2-13

24

1971

57

22

13-9

17

1973

53

19

7-12

19

1974

52

20

4-16

25

1986

51

23

13-10

15

1975

48

18

8-10

18

2010

48

16

7-9

20

2013

48

15

7-8

20

As many innings as the Mets have played in 2013, they are just barely cracking the top ten for most innings played by a Mets team in franchise history. Seven teams surpassed 50 extra innings in a single season and two teams have reached five dozen extra innings. That's still far from the major league record of 82 extra innings,which was set in 1918 by the Washington Senators.

Long games don't always end up well for the Mets, as seven teams on the above list had losing records in extra-inning affairs. Only the 1971 Mets (13-9), 1985 Mets (12-10) and 1986 Mets (13-10) had a winning record in their extra-inning games. However, considering that the '85 and '86 teams combined to go 206-118 during those two seasons, but only managed to go 25-20 in games that went past nine innings, that's not exactly something they should be proud of.

Ten years ago, the 2003 Mets played seven extra-inning games during the entire season, needing a total of ten extra innings to settle those games. This year, on June 8, 2013, the Mets and Marlins needed to play 11 extra innings just to settle one game.Although there have been seven seasons in which the Mets played more extra innings than they have this year, it sure seems as if many games this season have just gone on and on and on. The Energizer Bunny seems to thrive on the extra action. Too bad the Mets and their fans haven't been able to say the same.

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